don't let go just yet
by SarahSwifty13
Summary: 'Whenever you need me by your side, I'll be there.' Because she doesn't have to worry at all when he's right there, for her. Because she knows he will catch her when she falls. Literally. Christmas fic for someone sweet(:


**don't let go just yet – A&A oneshot**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Austin & Ally.**_

* * *

"Right…Left…Right…Left…Parallel…" She whispered under her breath, fixing her eyes on the midnight-blue skates as they glided – or rather, wobbled, on the smooth ice below her. This was harder than she thought, and definitely not as easy as everyone around her made it out to be. Or maybe she just had two left feet, but Ally was more inclined to think the former though she was _this close_ to marking down ice-skating on her list of undiscovered talents, right below dancing.

She was trying her absolute hardest to follow her best friend's instructions – her best friend who, even though claimed to have only tried this once before, seemed to be thoroughly experienced as she sailed gracefully over the more-white-than-blue solid surface, the wind fanning out her wild curls behind her, like her knitted scarf, fluttering with her speed.

The ice rink was flooded this festive season, and being surrounded by professional back-up dancers did not help lessen her pitiful sight. Of course, Jimmy _just had to_ pick the latest ice rink in town for Austin's second album release party. She tried to be as enthusiastic about it as everyone else, and she was, initially, for this was going to be her first time ice-skating, but man, was this brutal. It had been over an hour and all she managed to accomplish was hurt her bottom successively and gosh, even Nelson could skate better than her! And he was a first-timer too! She waved back as said kid breezed past her with a smile, a tight smile plastered on her own face.

Clumsily, Ally made her way towards the railings by the walls, craving for some kind of support. She heaved a sigh of relief as soon as her gloved fingers found the cool metal. Okay, she was safe from further embarrassment - _'for now,'_ a small voice echoed in her mind. Despair bubbled inside her once again and she let out a self-pitying groan.

A companion would have been nice, but Ally didn't wish to hold anyone back. She had felt bad slowing Trish down so she had urged her best friend to enjoy herself, insisting she could cope, thanking her for her patience. But really, Ally wished she had stayed, right by her side, ready to catch her if she fell again. Admittedly, it was more fun when she pulled her down and they landed sprawling on the cold surface together, laughing.

Loneliness tugged at her as she watched her best friend join the crowd. Honestly, Ally wasn't sure if her forced smile was to assure Trish when she glanced back, obviously concerned for the songwriter's safety, or was merely to convince herself she was fine on her own.

She longed to feel the wind against her, like Dez, who was currently being pushed by Kira, on the plastic seal meant for kids to ride on, his long legs sliding beside him. His laughter resonated throughout the air as Kira hunched forward and accelerated towards Trish. Ally couldn't help but laugh as she observed the chase unfold before her – Trish's annoyed looks thrown over her shoulder, Dez's child-like grin and Kira's smug smile as they inched closer to the Latina. Momentarily distracted from her own awkwardness, Ally allowed the Christmas songs to rejuvenate her spirits, smiling for real for the first time all afternoon as her duet with Austin blared through the speakers above in the indoor rink.

"Having fun yet?" A familiar voice came from behind her. She turned slowly, trying to maintain her balance, her fingers gripping the bar a little too tight. Calloused fingers tugged at the sleeve of her Christmas sweater, guiding her around to face its owner. Immediately, his arms became her support.

"I think tonight will be more fun," She replied, holding onto Austin's outstretched arms to keep from slipping, his hands firmly on her elbows. "Just the four of us in the practice room with _Home Alone, A Christmas Carol_ and Trish's caramel popcorn." Just saying their Christmas tradition out loud made her feel a tad less miserable. It could possibly save her day. It most probably would.

"Hopefully Trish decides to lay off Dez's gingerbread family," He smirked, pulling Ally along slowly.

"If she feels generous," She shrugged, unable to stifle the giggle which escaped her lips. "How did your hockey game go?"

"My team won," he said matter-of-factly, beaming at his victory. "And I got this for you." He pulled her along the edge of the rink at her quirked eyebrow, stopping at the knee-tall plastic penguin with handles where its ears should be, a red bowtie below his neck (it matched Austin's crimson jacket and she couldn't help but notice that he looked good in her favourite colour). She'd seen other beginners use that to help them around the rink but Ally couldn't decide is she should be thankful for Austin's thoughtfulness or offended that he thought she was so hopeless she needed one. Which she clearly did. But that was not the point.

"Got it from Dallas and his crew,"

"Did you now? He doesn't seem too happy about it," She raised her eyebrows at his pointed look in their direction.

"So maybe I borrowed without asking, but they didn't need it." He rolled his eyes, sliding the penguin to her.

So she was right after all. She sighed, her breath coming out in a puff of white cloud. '_How unnecessary to turn the air-conditioning so low during this season!'_ Ally thought.

"Aw, you look cute," He said, a grin spreading across his face as Ally took hold of the penguin. "Bend your knees. It'll help. Are you cold?"

"Nah, the cold never bothered me anyway," ** She waved his concern away.

She did as was instructed and squealed in joy as she followed her trusty penguin forward, glad she could somewhat make her time here suck less. He laughed at the child-like behaviour of his songwriter and skated smoothly alongside her. Ally cringed inwardly at how effortless Austin seemed to be doing it. Well, Austin did that pretty often and as much as she didn't want to admit it, he was a natural – '_it's like he doesn't even need to try_,' she ruminated. As if reading her thoughts, he shot her a cheeky '_hey, what can I do?_' look, earning him an eye roll from the brunette.

"I'm fine, Austin. Mr. Penguin here will take good care of me; you go have fun." As if to prove her point, Ally sped up a little, feeling slightly more courageous with her new buddy.

"Who says I'm not having fun?" He challenged, skating backwards in front of her.

"Show off," She muttered, speeding up to catch up with him, delighted at the soft breeze which caressed her cheeks and pushed her ombre strands out of her face.

Out of nowhere, two little girls dashed across her, giggling hysterically, cutting into her path. Her eyes widened as she struggled to skid to a stop, narrowly avoiding a collision. Mr. Penguin rocked to the side with her sudden jerking and she found herself tilting over with him, flailing one arm rapidly as she sought to maintain her previous center of gravity.

And then Austin's arms were on hers in the blink of an eye, steadying her, pulling her upright again, making things all right.

"Careful," Austin mock chided, a hidden warning for her safety evident, "don't get too excited there, Als," He teased, not loosening his grip on her.

"Thanks," She gasped, calming herself down.

"See, aren't you glad I didn't leave,"

_Yes_, her heart whispered – or shouted. She cracked a wan smile, shooting him her _'I've got this'_ look. He snorted at her pretense, moving behind her swiftly. The moment Austin was out of her peripheral vision, panic surfaced. She whipped her head around, catching sight of his snow-white pants and the silver glint from his blades just before they disappeared.

"Hey, relax. I'm right behind you," She felt his hands rest on her waist and instantly, she felt better, relieved. Austin would be there to catch her if she fell. That thought comforted her greatly.

"Okay, lean forward a little and follow what Trish taught you, but remember to move your feet diagonally outwards, like a V shape," He gave her a little push to get her started.

"Your weight should be on the foot you move forward,"

She followed the best she could in silence, his tone taking her back to the classroom. And you know what? Ally Dawson was a straight A student. She was _always_ attentive in class and she _never_ gave up. She would perfect whatever she was learning. She conquered those history essays, ridiculously tough extra credits, dissected that disgusting cow's eye without puking all over her lab partner and even mastered her worst nightmare in her entire education– calculus. Heck, she learned to make math _fun_, something she had never known was plausible. That's right; she learned to love her calculator. So Ally did what she could and she did what she knew how to do best – she tried.

And to her immense delight, she got the hang of it. Well, kind of. She was making progress, albeit rather slowly. At least she wasn't on all fours, lying on the cold hard ground*, and she got the rhythm down.

"Okay Ally, you can let go of Mr. Penguin now."

She hesitated, her grip on the handles still firm as she continued forward. After a few moments, Austin leaned closer to her, his head nearly resting on her shoulder as he reached to pluck her fingers from the handles.

"There's no reason to be afraid, Ally. I know you've already got the motion and I'm right behind you." He reminded, pushing the plastic support away from her. Ally watched Mr. Penguin slide towards Dallas's group of friends, feeling the corner of her lips turn up ever so slightly.

"You got it?"

"I think so," she nodded, feeling a burst of happiness in her chest as she skated smoothly forth, arms outstretched before her. But then she added, hurriedly, "But don't let go just yet."

His hands never left her waist. They didn't move an inch. "I wasn't going to."

* * *

**A/N: * OOOH OOHHH TROUBLE TROUBLE TROUBLE! Haha sorry, I just had to. This has been my Christmas fic! I hope it was a light fluffy read because that was kinda what I was aiming for. This is dedicated to Mae (i see the spark); I believe this is a long overdue expression of my appreciation. You are lovely and awesome and you probably won't even read this since you're not really into Auslly as much anymore but still. Thank you. I think the best part of being in a fandom is getting to make new friends (:**

**So basically, Ally's experience = my experience yesterday, minus Austin of course, and my friends stole Mr. Penguin from some pissed off dude, who looked nothing like Dallas, unfortunately. I can't ice-skate for nuts. Please review! I stayed up till 3am to write this! (Constructive criticism is welcomed) And don't you just love Stuck on You? That song is too adorable. Speaking of which, support the cast and go buy Turn it Up! If fanfics aren't giving you feels, this album would definitely make up for that! Oh and this fic was partly inspired by Superhero. Merry Christmas :D**

**** I love Frozen. That is all.**

**AND OMG LAURA ZOCCA FOLLOWED ME ON TWITTER. GOODBYE. (go check her out on youtube! She's an amazing songwriter!)**

**Lovelovelove,**

**SarahSwifty13**


End file.
